


Spellbound, Darling

by Frumpologist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Best Friends Falling in Love, Fluff, Hogwarts Seventh Year, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Romance, Vignette, a wee bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-19 06:40:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22006744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frumpologist/pseuds/Frumpologist
Summary: A vignette look at two friends who begin to look at one another differently the summer before 7th year.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/James Potter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 98
Collections: New Year New Mood board





	Spellbound, Darling

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for the New Year, New Moodboard fest put on by NuclearNik and RoryEgg. My prompt was the moodboard you see below - open to any interpretation, pairing, or character. I chose to write Remus/James and I may have fell in love a little bit along the way.

  
  
_I was never spellbound by a starry sky  
What is there to moon glow, when love has passed you by  
Then there came a midnight and the world was new  
Now here am I so spellbound, darling  
Not by stars, but just by you  
**At Last, Doris Day**_

The summer between sixth and seventh year was long, warm, and filled with moments James would cherish forever. His best mate had come to live with him, he’d finally grown into all of his awkward and long limbs, and because he’d come of age  _ and _ made Head Boy, his mum and dad relaxed the rules around Potter Cottage. That meant late nights around bonfires and too much muggle beer — Sirius’ choice — and hiding a newfound love of loud rock music that could be blasted inside of his room because he was  _ finally _ allowed to use silencing charms at will.

June was smoking hot, and so he invited the lads down to a small lake not too far from the cottage for a day of swimming, followed by a fire and booze and general merriment until they all passed out and did it again the next day.

Moony had surprised him by showing up, despite the fact that the moon was reaching that  _ time of the month _ for his  _ furry little problem _ . Remus had rolled his eyes and chucked off his jeans and white vee neck tee shirt, leaving him in just his swimming costume.

That was the first time James had noticed Remus and his scars. He hadn’t meant to stare, but several things caught him off guard all at once. Hard lines at the hips, the barest amount of dark hair smattering his chest, and long silver and pink gashes around his ribs. Remus was marked up like a map of the underground, and James was utterly fascinated.

“Er… Prongs?” James’ eyes snapped to Remus and found an uncomfortable smile and red cheeks.

“Sorry, mate, sorry.” He ran a hand through his hair and plastered on one of his infamous grins as he tilted his head to the side. “Your wolf is rough on you.”

Remus dropped his eyes to the yellowing grass on the ground and huffed a small laugh. “You could say that,” he said as he scratched absently at one of the longer, thicker scars on his torso. “We have, er —  _ disagreements _ quite regularly, Moony and I.”

“Probably because you’re such a swot.” Sirius jogged toward them, hair blowing around his shoulders as he grinned cheekily between the two of them. “Can’t say I blame old Moony for taking a swipe here and there to keep you in line.”

“Nice, Pads.” Remus shook his head. “Where’s Pete?”

“On his way,” James said as he led the lads toward the edge of the lake. “Said he had an errand to run for his mum before coming by.”

“Right then. Let’s get started.” Sirius dropped his jeans and took off at a run to the edge of the grass, and then promptly flung himself into the water. He emerged like a majestic mermaid with his hair flinging water droplets in an arch above his head. “Water’s fine! C’mon, get your arses in here.”

Remus gestured toward the water, and James grinned devilishly as he lunged forward to Remus, grabbed him around the middle, and then rushed them both towards it. The man in his arms struggled and fought against him, but James didn’t let go. Instead, he propelled himself faster and harder until they toppled from the grass edge into the lake.

When they broke the water surface, wet and panting, Remus splashed him with a large wave and growled. “You’re such a fucking prat, Prongs!”

A prat he may have been, but it was the first time James could say he’d regretted absolutely nothing. His fingers clenched against Remus’ side and his teeth cut into the plump flesh of his bottom lip as he grinned at his friend. “Live a little, Moony!”

* * *

The first bonfire of the summer was under a dome of inky black sky with flecks of diamond-like light twinkling overhead. The cool breeze stole most of the heat from the air and so James sat bundled up in an oversized hoodie and his swim pants in front of the fire. He had a large stick in his hand and poked at the embers under the fire.

Sirius handed out glass bottles of muggle beer that tasted like bitter piss, and they took turns around the circle clinking them together and sucking down the froth threatening to spill over the top. Pete used his wand to light the tip of a small knotgrass spliff, and Remus tossed James a long cigarette before using a small, silver object to set it ablaze.

It was quiet as they enjoyed the peace of the night, and James wouldn’t want his summer nights with friends any other way.

Peter tapped him on the arm with the back of his hand and passed the spliff over. He spoke as smoke billowed from his lips. “There’s a rumor that your cousin married a muggle, Sirius.”

Sirius laughed, “Wouldn’t surprise me, mate. She’s a firecracker, Andy. Probably did it just to watch her old man go mental.” He smiled against the lip of his beer and chugged a bit. “She’s already been blasted off that tapestry mum keeps around to threaten the family with. I’m only annoyed that she got there before I did.”

A round of laughs flitted through the night. James sucked down a puff of the knotgrass and let it out slowly between pursed lips. He passed it over to Remus, surprised to find his eyes already surveying his face. James tilted his head and lifted a questioning eyebrow, but Remus merely shook his head and took the proffered joint.

“I’ve decided to give up on Evans this year,” he said after a few moments of silence. Remus choked on the smoke and coughed until tears fled from his eyes. James pounded on his back, and laughed. “Er, surprise?”

Sirius rolled his eyes and chucked the glass bottle toward his feet before grabbing a new one. “You’ve said that before, Prongsie. ‘ _ I’ll let her go, like a butterfly’ _ was my favorite. What was that, between third and fourth years?”

Peter tittered. “I’ve always been fond of, ‘ _ she’ll miss all my attention and come running back any day now’ _ . Fifth year.”

“Sixth year, he said he’d wait until they graduate so that she’d truly believe he’d grown up.” Remus added, still clearing his throat. His voice was hoarse and raw as he leaned to James and plucked his beer from his hand. “And in first year, he promised her that he’d wait until the end of time for her to fall in love with him.”

“Oi, all of this is highly unnecessary. I’m turning a new leaf.” James pouted, relenting his bottle to Remus. Something jolted between them, and his eyes widened as they swung to him, wondering if he’d felt it, too. “I have other things keeping me occupied.”

* * *

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Bugger it if Moony’s voice didn’t sound alluring, all thick with sleep and raw from the dry summer air. August painted James in a deep, even tan and he preened under the attention Remus gave him as he approached. James ran a hand through his hair and stole a deep breath before reaching into the cooler and handing him the last beer.

Padfoot and Wormtail snoozed on some feet away, but James couldn’t possibly think about sleep having realized school was back in session in a week.

“Kept thinking about NEWTs, believe it or not,” James said, clicking the bottom of his glass against Moony’s and tossing back a sip. “Hard to believe that by this time next year, we’ll be out of Hogwarts and starting proper careers.”

Remus plopped down next to James, one knee up and his elbow resting on it. “Sometimes I think it went by so fast, but then I remember how much time has slowed since I’ve met you lot. Feels like I’ve known you forever.”

“Mm.” He stared at the star dotted sky and then tossed his empty bottle into the cooler. “Feels like it’s all about to be over too soon to me.”

“There’s a full year ahead of us.”

“And then what?”

James laid back in the grass with his laced fingers cradling the back of his head. Time at Hogwarts was coming to an end and it was a question he’d asked himself until his stomach ached. What came next? Who was James Potter without his Marauders? The fact he didn’t know scared the shit out of him.

He felt Remus drop to his side, could practically hear his sly little grin as he spoke. “Whatever you want, Prongs. Nothing’s holding you back.”

“I always thought I’d want to be an Auror.” James flipped onto his side and found Moony already lying there looking at him. “I don’t know if that’s the right path for me anymore.”

Remus furrowed his brow. “Why not?”

“Dangerous, isn’t it?” James cracked a smile. “I don’t mean ‘run around a forbidden forest with a werewolf’ dangerous. I mean  _ proper _ dangerous.”

Fingers moved through the hair on his forehead and pushed it gently out of the way. There was always an unexpected softness about Remus that caught James by surprise. A small smile lifted the corners of his lips and then his hand dropped to the grass between them.

“Only you would think rushing out to save the world is more dangerous than shacking up with a werewolf once a month.”

James cut his teeth into his lip and laid his hand on top of Remus’. He grinned and his hazel eyes shone in the moonlight. “The world will have many saviors, Moony. How many will you have?”

“All the ones I need.”

* * *

“I don’t fucking believe you!”

“Right, well, perhaps if you pulled your head out of your arse for just a fucking minute, Moony—”

“Don’t give me that  _ shit _ , Prongs—”

“I didn’t mean for it—”

“No, you _ never _ fucking mean for any of it, and still—”

It was dark in the Heads common room and their shouts echoed off the stone walls. James stood with his hands on his hips and Remus had his hands raised in the air in front of him, fingers curled in frustration as if he were going to reach forward and lock them around James’ throat. The wolf behind his eyes snapped, but James didn’t give in.

“He could have been  _ killed _ ,” Remus said after a short pause, in much lower tones, and letting his hands drop to his sides. “Do you understand that  _ at all _ ?”

“Of course I understand,” James whispered and dropped his gaze to the ground where his booted foot dug at the rug. He bowed his head and bit into his lip. “I apologized to Snivellus, didn’t I? But he shouldn’t have been sniffing around like that. He would have—”

“I’m well aware of what he would have done.” Remus stepped forward and clasped his hands onto James’ shoulders and something zinged up his spine at the contact. He lifted his head and caught the tailend of a yellowish flash in his eyes. “But that doesn’t mean that you can — James.” He moved his body closer still, his voice softening and sending a sick jolt through him. “What would have happened if he would have come upon Moony? He could have — I  _ would have _ — killed him.”

James hung his head, properly shamed. His face felt hot and his stomach coiled in a knot. Merlin, had he been so stupid? His eyes stung and he pulled his lips between his teeth to try and hold back the emotion that threatened to overtake him.

A knuckle encouraged his chin to lift and James struggled against it for a moment. Wide, pleading brown eyes stared back at him and he had to tighten his eyes to keep the moisture locked in place.

“I know you don’t mean to… make rash decisions,” Remus said, selecting his words slowly as if choosing the perfect phrase. “You could have ended up in Azkaban — and I cannot picture my life without you in it.”

They stared at one another for a long stretch of time. The moonlight from the night sky poured into the room and lit up the darkness, casting Remus’ shadow across him. James reached up to his hand and held it gently.

“I’m sorry.” So soft, so sure, and he’d never meant an apology more than in that moment. “Remus, I—”

Delicate pressure against his lips stopped whatever grand declaration James was about to make. It was swift, so quick that he wasn’t entirely sure it happened. When Remus away, he left just as suddenly as the kiss had happened, and left him alone in the dim light of the room.

He pressed a hand to his lips, and stared at the glowing window pane across the room. It wasn’t the wolf that had claimed James’ heart that night — oh no. It was Remus left him spellbound in his wake.

It didn’t dawn on James until much later in the evening that it might have been the first time he’d apologized and meant it with every fiber of his being.

* * *

“Remus!”

  
James jogged the length of the quidditch pitch, soaking with sweat from a long and arduous practice. His team left him to put the balls away under the cover of a velvet and diamond sky. Suited him fine; it gave him time to wind down before bed and go through the strategy one more time to find gaps. There weren’t any, of course, he was too good for that.

Still, when he spotted a thatch of reddish brown hair descending the Gryffindor stands, all strategy and play-by-play flew straight from his head. Remus waited for him to catch up when he reached the bottom of the stands, and rewarded James with a smile as he approached.

“Solid practice,” Remus said as if he were commenting on the weather.

James grinned and ran a hand through his moist hair. He peered up at the sky — no moon to be seen — and plucked his jersey away from his body to try and get some air to his skin. “Yeah, we’re alright. Ravenclaw’s got a great team this year. Lovegood’s a brilliant seeker.”

He flushed as Remus trailed his gaze down the expanse of his throat, and then swallowed hard. Ever since the barely-there kiss in his common room, he hadn’t been alone with Remus. James wasn’t sure if Remus had been avoiding him or if they kept narrowly missing out on time with one another, but he’d been happy to see him at the pitch even if he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Smoke?” Remus pulled a packet out from his jeans pocket. “Have a spliff in here to share if you’d like. Seem you need to relax a bit.”

“Brilliant, yeah.” While Remus lit the end of the joint, James plopped himself on the ground and crossed his ankles out in front of him. “Do you make a habit out of offering all quidditch captains knotgrass after an intense practice?”

Remus sat beside him with the joint between his lips, took a long drag, and then passed it over to James. Their arms were pressed together and James tried not to notice it. He failed.

“Only the ones I kiss in darkened common rooms,” Remus said, tilting his chin toward James with a cheeky little smirk.

James couldn’t help it; his entire face lit up with a massive grin. He passed the joint back to Remus and felt all the tension in his shoulders release in one fell swoop.

“Do you make a habit out of kissing quidditch captains in darkened common rooms, then?”

Remus laughed, a barking sound that slid through James’ abdomen and tightened his belly in a delicious way. “I’d like to — make it a habit, that is.”

The spliff was lost somewhere in the grass beside them as James wrapped a hand around the side of Remus’ neck and dragged him in for a proper kiss. There was no mistaking it, no questioning its existence. James laid it out for all to see. Tongue tracing the seam of his lip, then lazily exploring Remus’ mouth, until finally they found a rhythm of push-and-pull with one another.

Under a blanket of stars, in the nip of summer-turned-fall, and in one of his favorite places in the world, James sat with Remus straddling his hips; hands buried into his dark hair, teeth nipping along the sensitive, wet flesh of his lip, and hips grinding against his with teasing pressure.

Being with Remus, it was like being swathed in the fiercest magic. Like a  _ Lumos _ to his soul. He came in his pants before he’d even had a chance to bury himself in Remus’ fist, but James didn’t care. He’d promised Remus they’d have loads of time to make up for it, and he made good on that promise throughout the night.

They stayed together until dawn broke over the three hoops on the field, kept warm simply by the magic radiating between them.

* * *

Smoke wafted through the room where they sat shoulder to shoulder on a four poster bed. There was a table on each side of them; on one, a book bound in old and worn leather titled  _ Kama Sutra _ marked halfway through with a ratty piece of parchment, and beside it an ashtray littered with stubbed out cigarette ends, a wand, a candle burned three quarters of the way down, and a gold ring inlaid with a garnet stone. On the other, two tumblers half filled with firewhisky, half a slice of chocolate cake, a pack of cigarettes, and a wand whose tip was still glowing from a fire spell.

James ran a hand through his riotous hair and then rested a hand on his bare chest. He tilted his chin toward Remus, an easy grin dimpling his cheek. Remus, whose face was still flushed, brought his cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply as his eyes flickered across James’ face.

“You look pleased with yourself, Prongs,” he said with a raspy lilt, sending desire coursing through James’ body. The smoke streamed from between his lips, and he reached over to snuff out the cigarette.

“Why wouldn’t I be pleased? Dashing bloke just let me shag him senseless on my Head Boy bed. And Potions with the Slytherins was cancelled.” James held an arm out and beckoned Remus to move closer. “I’d say a kip is in order.”

Remus snorted, hair falling over his eyes as he pressed his cheek to James’ chest. “You always think a kip is in order. I have studying to do.”

With a roll of his eyes, James rested his chin on Remus’ head and sighed. “And you always have studying to do. Between Quidditch and classwork, I’m amazed we have any time at all for one another this year.”

“It’s NEWT year, James,” Remus groused as he slid a hand down his torso and under the crimson duvet that covered James’ hips. “If you think I’m going to fail so that we can have a romp between classes—”

“I don’t think that,” he said breathlessly; a hand circled around his softness and teased it until it began to grow. “Shagging you makes me think clearer. You’re my secret weapon for NEWTs.”

“Of all the ridiculous…” Remus tugged firmly beneath the covers, and James gasped; he was still sensitive from their earlier tryst. “Herbology is in a half hour. I thought we might head down together and meet the lads there.”

The words barely flitted through his mind. He’d have agreed to almost anything if it meant Remus would keep stroking him just like that. He agreed with a nod, but no words, and held his breath as Remus dipped below the covers and engulfed him entirely in his velvety mouth.

  
  


* * *

Herbology with the Ravenclaws was a hassle free affair. Even Sirius, who only continued on with Herbology for the ‘herbal remedies’ seemed sleepy and disinterested in Professor Sprout’s lecture on knotgrass. James leaned against the old, wooden table where everyone was gathered and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He snuck a glance to his side where Remus was paying rapt attention to their professor, and even poking at some of the herbs that were slowly but surely growing in his pot.

With Sirius off courting Marlene, and Peter doing Merlin knew what, he found himself with a lot of spare time with Moony. None of it dull, even when they sat in the library and James would sneak himself beneath his cloak and then under the table to make sure that Remus was able to relax properly for a good study session.

It was hard to force the amused smirk from his face. In class, Moony always looked so studious and unassuming. A bookworm and a scholar. But, outside of class, when it was just him and James, he became the wilder version of himself; a wolf, a predator. The way he would sink his fingers into James’ skin and bruise the flesh of his hips behind any door that could lock — it drove James mad.

James bit the inside of his cheek at the thought and let his fingers trail over the skin on the side of Moony’s hand. It jolted, and he had to hold back a grin.

“Let’s bunk,” he whispered out the corner of his mouth. “Go for a run in the Forbidden Forest.”

“We’re already  _ in _ class, Prongs.” He had no patience for James’ lack of scholarship, and no doubt James would bear the brunt of his frustrations later. He looked forward to it, of course, and caressed Moony’s pinky suggestively, eyebrows raised. “You’re insufferable, d’you know that?”

“I do.” James snagged his teeth on his lip to try and quash the smile threatening to take over. “Doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea, though. Come on, Moony, don’t be a spoil sport.”

“Goes against his nature, doesn’t it?” Sirius stepped up to James’ side and clapped him on the shoulder. “All these years I’ve tried to get him to skive off. The bastard’s committed to his studies, Prongsie. If he wasn’t, I’d have had him as a wingman years ago.”

“Would you two please shut up?” Remus hissed out the corner of his mouth. “I’m actually trying to appreciate my education. You know, this opportunity that I wouldn’t have received had Dumbledore not fought the Ministry for.”

That sobered James immediately. His hand was back into his pocket, an inch of space that hadn’t been there before put between their bodies. James glared at Sirius next; the ruiner of moments as he was so carefully lulling Remus into agreeing to leave class and then Sirius, the Hippogriff, had to butt in and ruin it all.

“Merlin’s balls, Moony, you sure do know how to make a bloke feel like shit.” Sirius laughed and pushed his dark hair behind his ears. His hand dropped finally from James’ shoulder. “Look, I’m harvesting this knotgrass while she’s not looking. Can you distract her somehow?”

“Fuck’s sake!” Remus flipped his pot over on the table, spilling soil all over the wood. Anger radiated from him, hackles raised and voice a growl as he turned to James.

Hands raised, James’ eyebrows lifted as a stuttering breath left him. “Moon—”

“Can you just stop for one minute and think about what you’re doing?” Remus continued, his bark drawing the attention of the entire greenhouse. “You can’t just put the seed of wormwood into the soil of knotgrass, you muppet! They don’t crossbreed; it’s like trying to have a grindylow mate with a krup. Everyone knows that’s mental.”

Realization dawned on him, and James bit back a raging grin. Right; he nodded his head and blinked slowly at his friend. He raised his voice straight back. “Not everyone’s as bloody smart as you, mate. We can’t just look at a bunch of weeds and know that they won’t  _ get along _ , you swot.”

They stared at one another, challenging and silent. James’ heart thundered in his ears even as he felt Sirius fumbling at his side.

“Keep going,” Padfoot whispered quietly and resumed his harvest.

“Maybe if you  _ were _ half as studious as a Head Boy should be,” Remus started, cheeks turning the most delicious shade of pink, “I wouldn’t be running circles around your marks. If you paid any bloody attention whatsoever in class, you’d—”

“Mister Lupin, Mister Potter! That’s quite enough from both of you.” Professor Sprout scuttled over to their side of the bench, and Sirius cursed under his breath as his movements picked up speed. “That’s a night of detention for the pair of you. All this tosh in my class? If you were in my house, I’d have you cooking dinner with the house elves this evening.”

“Professor,” James tried, but was cut off with a sharp glare from his teacher. “Right. Shall we go and see Professor McGonagall now or after class?”

“Go now,” she said, as she gestured with her hand to the door. “I didn’t think I’d ever see the day where Mister Black would behave a sight better than the pair of you.”

* * *

  
  


Professor McGonagall wasn’t surprised. James and Remus also weren’t surprised to receive more than one night’s detention, either. The strict old cat gave them each a week’s worth of detention, though she said that was to make up for the fact that she wouldn’t dream of suspending James from Quidditch. Gryffindor was set to beat Slytherin at the weekend, after all. The Quidditch Cup hung in the balance of this one game, and McGonagall wouldn’t dare put that in jeopardy.

The boys chased through the corridors and back to the Head common room. It had only taken James a minute to convince his more stalwart other half, eventually wearing him down with promises of knotgrass and smokes and chocolate cake from the kitchens.

He could always win Remus over with chocolate cake.

When they entered through the enchanted wall to the common room, James was pleased to find it empty. Evans didn’t spend much time in their personal rooms, and that suited him just fine. He loved her, of course, but the way she and Remus could drone on and on about the practicalities of charmwork in the evolving magical world was a snoozefest.

James kicked the door closed behind Remus and wasted no time in shoving him back against it. His mouth collided with Remus’ and the weight of the school day melted away when he felt hands wrapping around his shoulders and fingers digging into his muscles.

“I really thought you were angry with me.” James left his lips and kissed a trail down his chin and to his neck to the delectable little spot that made Moony keen when he nibbled on it. “To be fair, I had no idea you couldn’t crossbreed wormwood with knotgrass.”

Remus snorted as his head tilted back and thudded against the hard door. “Of course you didn’t, you gigantic pain in the arse. You never learn by lecture, so I figured I’d use my scene to teach you a little something.”

James’ head sprung up, brilliant smile on his face. “You’d make an excellent teacher, Professor Moony.”

“Right, that’s what every parent would love: a werewolf teaching their precious children.”

Remus didn’t give James a chance to rebuke him; instead, he reached for the back of James’ head and brought his lips against him once more.

Kissing Remus was like seeing the sun for the first time after a lifetime in the dark. The way he took his time, hands meandering from his shoulders to his hair and wrapping in it gently despite the needy growl in his throat. How bloody good it felt to have his tongue swipe his own, slow and methodical as he worked at the slowest pace if only to drive James insane. And the rumble of his chest pressed so snug against him, a protective sound that vibrated through his soul and warmed him from toes to nose.

“I love you.”

Remus pulled back, eyes flashing a predatory amber color. Fingers dug into James’ hip, the crescent of his nail denting his flesh in the most delicious way. James offered him a cheeky sort of smile and a slight shrug.

“Do you mean it, James?” Barely a breath, so low and hoarse that James’ grew harder just at the sound of his voice. When he didn’t answer right away, Remus squeezed his hand on his hip. “James, don’t fuck with me about this.”

James raised his hands up to rest on either side of Remus’ face. Fingers gently pressed against his stubbled cheeks. He couldn’t make his eyes more sincere if he tried; big and hazel and desperate for Remus to  _ see _ .

“I love you,” he said again, firmer this time and without room for misunderstanding. “All of you — Moony and Remus both, equally.”

Remus didn’t answer him, instead allowed instinct to take over. And James didn’t mind. Every ounce of his affection was poured into the kiss, into the way his hand wrapped around his cock and elicited the filthiest of orgasms from him in record time. It was in the way he pulled James against his hard body and stroked his hand down the length of his spine. How he laid James down on the floor and whispered all of the sexy things he was going to do to him in the middle of the common room. In the way he ran his scarred fingers through James’ hair and kissed the back of his ear.

James knew they’d be together for as long as they lived. He’d never known love quite as powerfully as he’d known any other emotion. Not until Remus, not until that spark he’d felt during the summer. And he knew they’d have their challenges; there would be so much to overcome in their lifetime — prejudice and furry little problems and figuring out who and what they were after school.

But, as Remus explored every inch of his body with scarred hands and a hot mouth, James was spellbound by the love that tethered him to this wizard. Remus hadn’t returned James’ words — not out loud.

James declared his love aloud and without apology, but Remus? Remus spoke volumes without uttering a single word.

**Author's Note:**

> My unending gratitude to mcal for giving this a read in its early conception and encouraging me to continue on with it! And to the mods for hosting a fresh, new, and inclusive fest for fandom!


End file.
